Safeguards design strategies: designing and constructing new uranium and plutonium processing facilities in the United States
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
In the United States, the Department of Energy (DOE) is transforming its outdated and oversized complex of aging nuclear material facilities into a smaller, safer, and more secure National Security Enterprise (NSE). Environmental concerns, worker health and safety risks, material security, reducing the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy while maintaining the capability for an effective nuclear deterrence by the United States, are influencing this transformation. As part of the nation's Uranium Center of Excellence (UCE), the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, will advance the U.S.'s capability to meet all concerns when processing uranium and is located adjacent to the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (HEUMF), designed for consolidated storage of enriched uranium. The HEUMF became operational in March 2010, and the UPF is currently entering its final design phase. The designs of both facilities are for meeting anticipated security challenges for the 21st century. For plutonium research, development, and manufacturing, the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) building at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico is now under construction. The first phase of the CMRR Project is the design and construction of a Radiological Laboratory/Utility/Office Building. The second phase consists of the design and construction of the Nuclear Facility (NF). The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) selected these two sites as part of the national plan to consolidate nuclear materials, provide for nuclear deterrence, and nonproliferation mission requirements. This work examines these two projects independent approaches to design requirements, and objectives for safeguards, security, and safety (3S) systems as well as the subsequent construction of these modern processing facilities. Emphasis is on the use of Safeguards-by-Design (SBD), incorporating Systems Engineering (SE) principles for these two projects.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1035175
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-10-06569; LA-UR-10-6569; TRN: US1200984
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Symposium on International Safeguards, Preparing for Future Verification ; November 1, 2010 ; Vienna, Austria
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
42 ENGINEERING
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
AGING
CHEMISTRY
CONSTRUCTION
DESIGN
ENRICHED URANIUM
HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM
MANUFACTURING
METALLURGY
NATIONAL SECURITY
NUCLEAR DETERRENCE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PLUTONIUM
PROCESSING
PROLIFERATION
SAFEGUARDS
SAFETY
SECURITY
STORAGE
URANIUM
VERIFICATION